One Wrong Step
by LordOfThePeasants
Summary: Ulrich and Yumi are sent on a mission to find some personal family items left by Franz Hopper in a secret location hundreds of miles away. However, with no super computer to virtualize the two, Jeremy had to get creative, and his creativity might just spell the end for these two "Good Friends".
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is set during "Code Lyoko: Evolution" And the backstory is that Hopper has returned, and sent a message to Jeremy that he has hidden information and personal items in a Bunker somewhere, so he found a way to Virtualize warriors into this area even without a super computer present.**

"Okay, I'm rematerializing Ulrich and Yumi into the other zone, wherever on earth that may be." Jeremy informed. Ulrich nodded.

"Are you sure there might be information here about where Franz Hopper is here?" She inquired. Aelita looked up sharply.

"There's indication he travelled here, and stored information where no one would find it." She snapped back. Yumi grimaced nervously.

"Ready?" Jeremy said, hitting a button before either of the two had a chance to answer.

The two dropped down on a mossy hillside, surrounded by tall pine trees, thick moss, dirt, and rocks.

"Jeremy…where are we?" Ulrich asked cautiously.

"New Hampshire, in the States." He responded. Yumi shrugged and walked forward, Ulrich close behind, muscles taught.

"So, you don't believe there should be any monsters around here?" Yumi coaxed hopefully.

"Uh-uh. No towers active, and nothing XANA needs to defend. He doesn't even know about this information, Franz Hopper told me himself that this was around here. Anywho, it's nothing vital to XANA, it's personal items I'd like Aelita to have." Ulrich grunted in acknowledgement as they walked forward. Suddenly Yumi slipped on a rock and stumbled. Ulrich caught her and pulled her up, falling into a sitting position with Yumi against him.

"Yumi! Are you…you're…you're...bleeding…Jeremy, we have a problem!" the teen called. Yumi stared into Ulrich's grey eyes in alarm, and they boy pulled her closer, rubbing her arms.

"Yes…I see…this is..uhm…guys, this is really bad." Jeremy said, his voice cracking. Ulrich tensed nervously.

"Xana?" Yumi suggested. Jeremy gulped, and responded with a shaky voice.

"No…I wish…this is, um. This is a glitch on my end. I don't know how this happened."

"Jeremy, spit it out!" Ulrich snapped anxiously.

"Well, since there was no super computer to virtualize you through, I did it via satellite. But something went wrong. I won't be able to bring you back…"

"So if we're devirtualized, we're gone for good unless you fix that?" Yumi cut in.

"No…no much worse. When I rematerialized you, I REALLY rematerialized you. See, you're in your Lyoko uniforms but…but you're human. You have no special capabilities." Jeremy explained.

"And…any wounds we have are real. If we get attacked…we'll actually die." Ulrich said, voice hard.

"How do we get out of here?" Yumi demanded, her hand on Ulrich's leg.

"Get a plane ticket? Rather, I'd buy it for you, since you lack money." Jeremy said.

"It won't be easy, given that we're no where near civilization," Ulrich muttered, then he put a hand on Yumi's cheek and turned her face towards him. Her eyes were glistening. He added, quietly so Jeremy couldn't hear. "But I trust you with my life. And I would give my life in a heartbeat to save you. We'll get out, Yumi. I promise." Yumi nodded, squeezing his leg in agreement.

"It just got a lot less easy, guys." Jeremy added unhappily. "XANA activated a tower….I…I don't know what he's doing…but I'm sure he's picked up on my glitch and is aiming at you…Ulrich…Yumi…"

"We may die….Jeremy…You need to accept that Yumi and I may not make it out. It isn't your fault, and it might not even be XANA. This is a rough place, and getting out of here will be hard, but—' Ulrich began.

"But we aren't going to give up. We go down fighting," Yumi said, standing. Ulrich stood as well. Yumi reached out for his hand and squeezed as tightly as she could. "Together."


	2. Chapter 2

"They….might die?" Odd said slowly as Aelita paced the floor of the factory. Jeremy nodded grimily as he watched the stage. The pair on the opposite end had been quite for quite some time now. Odd sat on the floor, running his hands through his hair. Suddenly he wasn't hungry anymore.

"Find a way to get them home, before they get hurt. My fathers bunker is not so important that they need risk their real lives for it. If they were still a virtual program it would be different. But they may never come back. You need to fix the program before the go get hurt." Aelita insisted.

"Not a chance, Aelita. We're all the way over here. We might as well get what we came for. We have our weapons, we can fight. We aren't incompetent." Ulrich insisted.

"Uh, YOU have your weapons, Ulrich. My fan's danger was just part of the program. Here, they're regular fans..." Yumi trailed off. Ulrich looked at her in shock, and carefully drew one of the blades. He made an arch, swiftly swinging the blade down on a slender tree branch, assuring his sabers were still sharp. The branch cut like butter, and the boy offered the handle to Yumi.

"Well, you'll need protection, won't you?" he prompted. She shook here head.

"I have you, I'll be safe," She blushed slightly and turned away. "But I'm no good with a sword anyways." Ulrich nodded blankly and sheathed the sword.

"You can't go home tonight even if you wanted to…You're nowhere near an airport. The closest one is Manchester, which is too far walking distance for a day…" they both exchanged a grim look.

"G…get some sleep Jeremy. I'm exhausted now, which can only mean it's bed time there. Yumi and I will do our best to survive until you get back," Ulrich said, his voice dull.

"Leave you alone?!" Jeremy said in shock. Ulrich seethed quietly under his breath.

"We ARE alone. We're stranded, okay? And as much as I appreciate hearing you three talking about how bleak this situation is I assure you we already know, and hearing the superbrain who got us here, and was supposed to get us out, admit he can't save us, it really outs a damper on our moral. We're best on our own. I trust Yumi and I will not let her get hurt. Now go, rest. All of you. And come back when you're capable of anything more than just pity and misery. The two of us have a copious amount of that." Ulrich spat. Yumi placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, and felt the tense muscle beneath his uniform.

"I'll work on a solution guys…I swear." Jeremy murmured. They heard the soft click of the microphone shutting off. Ulrich and Yumi exchanged empty looks. Neither knew exactly how to feel. Yumi moved forward and hugged Ulrich, taking in a shuttering breath. Ulrich wrapped his arms around her, unsure of what to do. He pulled away abruptly, his thoughts scattered. Yumi dropped her arms, slightly hurt. Ulrich began walking forward, unaware that he had wounded the girl. He crouched beside a stream several feet away and drew a sword again, slashing the water furiously for several seconds before stabbing it deep into the rich earth beside the stream, and laying on the ground, fists clenched over his eyes. Yumi bit her lip and turned away from him, willing the tears not to fall.

_ Stupid, stupid. Don't cry. What are you crying over? The fact that you're going to die, or that you're going to die with an unrequited love? Don't freaking cry. That gets you no where…He's the strong one, and he's so lost. What do I do? If he can't lead, what, then? No, you're strong, too. He's younger than you. Less wise. But he has gotten his act together, and pulled his grades up. Book smarts won't help you here…but he's always been strategic in battle. Always. Whatever, so have you. But how can I fight with paper fans? Ugh._

Yumi's thoughts raged in her head as she stared blankly ahead. She turned her gaze tiredly to the frustrated boy on the ground…no, he wasn't a boy now. He had grown dramatically over the months, now significantly taller than her, his face harder and more solid than the child she had first befriended. She sat down next to him, not sure if she should attempt to comfort her. He abruptly sat up, and looked at the time on his watch.

"I'm still on France time." He said shortly. He glanced at her wrist. "As are you. Time difference is approximately six hours…" He fiddled with his watch. "Okay, it's four P.M. here…darkness is coming soon, you keep your watch on France time, so we know when they'll be awake or sleeping. We need to…" he stood, eyes focused on nothing in particular, and strode forward.

"Come on," he called as he left. Yumi strode after him quickly. They were walking for about 15 minutes when they came across a delapitated stone building. Ulrich looked at Yumi, his eyes soft again. "Shelter…for the night. You look tired, and I know I am. We can worry about food tomorrow. It's almost dark now. We have to get some sleep." He said, shoving open the door. The dim, remaining daylight filtered through the window. The floor was empty apart from a large, old mattress. There was a cabinet one wall, and a fireplace next to the mattress with a large pile of wood. Ulrich strode to the hearth and threw kindling on. Yumi had been unaware that he had left to gather some. He glanced around and found a box of matches on top of the hearth and attempted to strike them. Three broke before the fourth finally lit. As the kindling burned he placed two logs over it, and stood, looking at her.

"Come here…" he pleaded softly. Yumi walked slowly towards him. He had been on edge and intense all day, enough to make her a little afraid. She stood in front of him and he looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, then brushed a clump of hair gingerly behind her ear, then looked away towards the mattress. "It isn't much…but, you lay here. I'll look around this shack for a bit then build the fire. I'll sleep on the floor." He added. Yumi had sat on the dust mattress, and looked at him in alarm.

"The floor? No! Ulrich this mattress is big enough for the both of us." She insisted. He looked at her for a moment then smirked playfully.

"You just want to share a bed with me," He joked, walking to the opposite end of the cabin, match box in hand. Despite his joking, he was right. Yumi wanted to sleep in the same bed as him, and every implication that came with it.

Suddenly a beam of light crossed her face and she squinted.

"Flashlights!" Ulrich called. She smiled, it was a small, yet significant find. She laid back, and closed her eyes, listening to the sound of him moving around.

She was just dozing off as she felt the heat from the fire grow, the mattress shift, and Ulrich's presence beside her. She kept her eyes shut but could feel his gaze on her. Suddenly she felt his breath on her face, and his lips hardly brushed hers. Perhaps it was only his breath she felt, but his mouth was incredibly close. She struggled to stay still.

"Good night, Yumi…" he murmured. She could feel each word as the breath came from his mouth against her lips. She felt him pull away and lay down. He was perhaps a foot away at the most, but yet any distance away from what had just been, and he may as well have been in France. Not even the fire made her feel warmer than his breath had.


	3. Chapter 3

Jeremy sat at his desk, brow furrowed as he stared at his computer screen.

"Anything?" Aelita asked. The blonde mumbled something under his breath. "I'm sorry?" Aelita asked.

"I'm working on it," he mumbled. "In the mean time, I've been fixing the program we used for the fake William."

"So you're going to virtualize Ulrich and Yumi programs?" Aelita asked. Jeremy nodded.

"That way we don't have people on our tail again. These two will be better. They'll be able to socially function normally, and I've inputted parts of Ulrich and Yumi's personality." Jeremy added.

"So they'll both be hot-headed and stubborn?" Aelita asked, giggling slightly. Jeremy smiled, too.

"But getting them back…oh, what was I thinking? I can't just by them plane tickets. They'll need passports and they'd have to ditch their weapons, and what American security officer would let people in costume like THEM onto an international flight?" Jeremy knotted his fingers into his hair. "I should have been much more critical with the program. Not just launch our friends into it as soon as I created it. I should have made sure it was safe!" he yelled. Aelita put her hands on his shoulders.

"So, it wasn't XANA?"

"No," Jeremy muttered. "This was my fault. And since I can't get them back via plane…" Jeremy began.

"You have to find a way to devirtualize them." Aelita finished. Jeremy nodded grimly.

"Let's hope your father will help us out, somehow." Jeremy whispered, standing. "Come on, we have to get to the factory and bring in the alternates." He said stiffly, walking out the door.

The scanners opened, and Odd, Aelita, and Jeremy all stared anxiously as the steam dispersed, revealing copies of the two missing warriors.

"Ulrich? Yumi?" Odd whispered.

"No…we are programs, Odd, you know that," Yumi said impatiently.

"And if ANYONE asks…you're the real deal." Odd snapped back. The Ulrich stepped forward quickly and threw an arm around the shorter boy, patting his chest.

"Yeah, Odd. We're best friends. Class! We must go to class! Don't want to disappoint Mrs. Hertz!" Ulrich said, striding quickly to the elevator, Odd in his wake. Yumi followed the two, and Jeremy and Aelita exchanged glances.

"So the program isn't perfect. But it's better than William's and certainly better than nothing," Jeremy said defensively, as he followed the other three into the elevator.

"ULLLLLRICH! YOO-HOO! ULRICH!" A high-pitched voice called. The clone turned his head in the direction of the voice as Sissy ran towards him.

"Oh. Sissy, hello." He said flatly.

"Oh Ulrich, you just HAVE to see this new bathing suit I have, it's very…very! Come on!" she grabbed his arm and drug him away. The Yumi clone clenched her fists and watched angrily.

"Well, the Ulrich clone seems a little off, but Yumi is spot on." Odd muttered, staring after the couple.


End file.
